PHILIPPEVILLE, Belgium

[connie]

I understand that as the troops from the 106th Infantry Division moved toward the front from France to Belgium, most spent one night camping somewhere in the vicinity of Philippeville, Belgium.
Does anyone have memories of or information about this site?

Does anyone know its exact location?

I believe I read of marble quarries in the area. That sounds like a big open space but it is pure speculation... And the quarry guess doesn't seem to match up with a comment on "extra deep mud" at the site.

[Carl W.]

Connie,

The division moved from Maubeuge to Philippeville. I have no exact location of the camp site, but I assume it was in one of the woods outside the town. To my knowledge there ar no quarries in the immediate vincinity of the town.

Carl

[connie]

Carl,

This is the link I found to an old marble quarry in the area
quarriesandbeyond.org/articles_and_books/stone_magazine/traigneaux_marble_quarry.html

As noted, I have no reason to believe the fellows from the 106th camped here. It just caught my eye when I was pondering possibilities from a computer far, far away! It's trivia not important to the conduct of the war, but I just found myself wondering...

[Carl W.]

You're right. The Traigneaux quarry is nowadays a popular diving spot as it filled up with water. Off course it's possible, but I do think army units preferred the woods instead of the barren areas of a marble quarry. The region is forested so that would be the most plausible area to stay.

[floydragsdale]

Recalling from memory.

Trucks drove us a far as they were allowed (Red Ball Transportation outfit) to drive, I assume. We were somewhere in Belgium. Burned out German & some American Equipment were strewn along the road side. Frozen bodies of German Soldiers littered the surroundings.

An Officer in the convoy announced, "OK men this is as far as we ride the trucks; we will walk from here on." It was a gloomy, misty day; the temperature probably in the mid 30's. We hiked, for several miles to an open area (sort of) in the Ardennes Forest where we bivouaced for the balance of the day.

Fires were built for warmth. However, they had to be "doused" that night as a German spotter plane "Bed Check Charlie" was prowling the area. Soon after we were in our sleeping bags for the night, it began to snow. What a miserable night. Army sleeping bags were not made for that kind of weather. I will l not mention the name Gi's gave them. Nevertheless, it was a good description. It was called a _____ sack. You can fill in the blank.

There was no evidence of a town or village in our area. It was a half a day hike to the front lines from that camp site.

Floyd,
424th Regiment.

[connie]

Floyd,

I had hoped you'd be entering this conversation! Your memories always enrich and sometimes solve mysteries. If you're going to solve this mystery, however, you'll have to go back to a day earlier. Your recollection of the place you stayed before moving into position is interesting. You were closer to the front than the field artillery at that point (who camped in a snowy pine forest east of St. Vith for 2 nights before going into position. That would have been over 14 miles from the front.)

But, the place I am speaking of would have been the day before hitting the St. Vith area -- if you slowed down anywhere en route from France. General Jones noted that this bivouac was in the Philippeville area, west of Dinant and about 85 miles west of St. Vith.

Jones had noted the deep mud in France. He noted "extra deep" mud in the Philippeville area.

Sounds like this one may have ended up in the blur of travel... falling in that travelog category of "If it's Tuesday it must be Belgium"-- except that doesn't work. It was ALL Belgium for a long time to come!

Connie

[floydragsdale]

Hi Connie:

I remember the convoy going trough France. Also, as I recall, it was a five day journey for the 106t Division. When we entered Belgium I recall the Trucks drove as far as they could, without a stop. Artillery shells were whistling over head. I remember no problem with mud. I'm sure it was muddy, however, the convoy was traveling on hard roads.

An Infantry Division in a convoy of trucks was stretched out over quite an area. Rifle companies, were at the head of the convoy. The heavy equipment was behind us as well as Division Headquarters.

The Division was entering a combat zone. Rifle companies had to be "up front", that was their job. Field Artillery Units were a number of miles behind us. Then, if we had to swing into action, infantry troops and F/A soldiers would be in a better position to do their jobs.

Hopefully, this will help you "nail" down the area where your Dad's outfit was in the time frame you are dealing with.

Floyd

[connie]

Hi, Floyd,

As always, it is interesting to listen to your memories. I looked back at what I had written and realized that the wording was unclear. The mud I spoke of was in the encampment in France and the one along the convoy route near Philippeville. It is good to hear confirmation that the roads were paved and gave no problem. I had assumed this to be the case. But it is better to know than to assume.

What about the vehicle you rode in. Was it covered?

Connie

[floydragsdale]

Hi Connie:

We rode in Two & a Half ton trucks and they were covered.

The morale of the troops were high; although some remained silent - - - as though they were in a trance.

Now the "real thing - - - - what all had trained for - - - was about greet us." It was something to contemplate about. I'm sure that each G.I. did it in his own way, boisterously, or silently.

Floyd

[connie]

Thank you Floyd,

I appreciate your ability to take us there with you. I can feel the mood in the truck.

I hate to break the mood with mundane questions but I'm wondering about things like what you sat on in the back of that truck -- did you sit on the bare truck bed; or was the truck bed padded with something, or ...?

Connie

[floydragsdale]

HI Connie:

The 2 1/2 ton trucks had, wooden benches on both sides of the truck bed. When not in use, I think they could be let down to make more room in the vehicle.

We took breaks, at intervals, along the way. G.I.s would then take care of "bathroom" chores, walk around to stretch their legs.
Also, the men needed to have a break from sitting on those hard benches. They were "butt paralizers" on a long ride.

Field sanitation was always observed during those breaks.

We were never told where we were going other than to "the front lines, a combat zone, or something to that effect.

Floyd